The present invention relates generally to the retrieval and dissemination of data from remote sensors and more particularly to the retrieval and dissemination of data from remote sensors using multiple communication channels,
Many businesses need to monitor and control industrial processes remotely, to track mobile assets, or to gather other data remotely over an extended period of time. Many systems are available for remote data monitoring; however, these systems typically have limited geographical coverage often due to a reliance on a single mode of communication that is not available throughout the United States. Many of these systems are also immobile and expensive, consume large amounts of power, and offer limited message capacity. Many systems are capable of monitoring only very limited types of data; hence, companies must purchase and use multiple systems if the data that they need to monitor does not match exactly the capabilities of any prior art system.
Many companies do not use the prior art systems to monitor their operations either due to expense or due to the need to utilize multiple systems to cover all of their sites, which limits the usefulness of the gathered data. If a single system capable of delivering data from the entire United States (or abroad) in a format chosen by the customer with an easily ascertainable total cost were available, many more companies would choose to make use of remote monitoring technology.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and a method for transmitting data from remote sensors to a central location using a plurality of communications media in a fashion that is transparent to the customer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for transmitting data from remote sensors to a central location that can be used with a variety of remote sensors capable of detecting a variety of different types of data.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for communicating data from a sensor located in a remote location. A processor, a sensor interface, a power module, including a power supply, and a transport interface are provided. The sensor interface receives data from a sensor in a first format. The sensor interface converts the data into a common format if the data is not already in the common format. The transport interface receives the formatted data from the sensor interface and transmits the data to a transport system.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a system and method for receiving data at a network operations center. A transport interface, a message and command handler, a message storage module, comprising a memory, and a dissemination system are provided. The transport interface receives data from a transport system in one of a plurality of predetermined data formats. The transport interface converts the data into a common format if the data is not already in the common format. The message and command handler receives the formatted data from the transport interface.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for gathering data, wherein data are automatically measured with a remote sensor, the data are transmitted from the sensor to a central location, predetermined criteria are applied to the data, and the data are transmitted to a customer if the predetermined criteria are met.